Dampers

  • Special Issues

    • NUMERICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL VALIDATION OF A STRUCTURAL HEALTH MONITORING TECHNIQUE FOR CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

    Gianmario Benzoni, Noemi Bonessio, Giuseppe Lomiento

    Damage Identification method developed for infrastructure equipped with seismic response modification devices is hereafter summarized and validated through numerical and experimental case studies. The output-only method was tested via Finite Element analyses of two bridge structures, the Vincent Thomas Bridge and the Benicia Martinez Bridge, equipped with viscous dampers and friction pendulum bearings, respectively. The application of the method to real ambient vibration data from the Vincent Thomas Bridge proved successful in identifying early stages of degradation of seismic response modification devices. The Level III damage detection method was also applied to a three-span cable-stayed bridge, the Yokohama Bay Bridge, based on accelerometric records from the 2011 East Japan Earthquake. The integration of the method in an innovative monitoring systems aimed at the real-time remote assessment of the structural adequacy of aging critical infrastructure is under development.

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    • INNOVATIVE CONNECTIONS FOR TIMBER PANEL BUILDINGS

    Massimo Latour, Gianvittorio Rizzano

    Cross-laminated timber panel buildings are gaining a growing interest of the scientific community due to significant technical advantages, such as the material sustainability, the high fire resistance and quick constructability. Nevertheless, it is well known that timber panels themselves are not able to dissipate a significant amount of energy during an earthquake. In fact, the design of a Cross-Lam building is carried out in order to dissipate the energy in the steel connections (hold-downs or angle brackets) which govern the seismic performance. The paper here presented proposes to substitute the classical hold-downs, which usually exhibit a limited dissipation capacity, with an innovative type of dissipative angle. The new connection, called XL-stubs, apply the concept usually adopted for designing the hysteretic metallic dampers ADAS (Added Damping and Stiffness). In particular, the hourglass shape allows a better spread of plasticization resulting in a high dissipation capacity. In order to characterize the force-displacement response under cyclic loads of XL-stubs an experimental campaign is carried out comparing the hysteretic behavior of the classical hold-down with that of the proposed dissipative angle.